From guilt to freedom
A reflection on Pieces of a Woman
Last night, Ingrid and I watched the poignant film Pieces of a Woman. The story really spoke to us, so I decided to title this article “From Guilt to Freedom.” Why I chose those words becomes clear as the story unfolds. The opening scene shows a childbirth that ends in tragedy. It is heartbreaking to see how a woman struggles during the birth and how the baby dies shortly afterwards.
Emotions
The film shows how deeply human suffering is experienced in different ways. The man reacts with anger and accusation. He blames her and goes his own way, without his wife. The main character, Martha, completely shuts herself off. She cannot control her emotions and becomes depressed. This despondency causes her to become stuck in her great sorrow. Her life is in tatters because of this loss and because she and her husband are growing apart. The filmmakers based the plot on their own experiences, which gives the film a raw and realistic character.
Without God
After watching this with my wife, I read a passage from Colossians 2 this morning. Verses 13 to 15 also deal with death, but in this case death in our spiritual life. This is the result of our separation from God. That separation was caused by our transgressions and the things we did wrong. Just as Martha became emotionally numb, our spiritual survival without God seems more like death than real life.
List of guilt
Yet change is coming from God. God cannot bear the thought of being estranged from His children. That is why He makes a wonderful offer. He gives forgiveness to everyone who realizes what went wrong and asks Him for that forgiveness. God did this in a special way. When you make mistakes, there is of course something to be said about it. You could make a list of your shortcomings for yourself. The Old Testament law provides clear guidelines for this. The Bible states that every human being breaks those rules. However, God decides to destroy that list of guilt.
Debt note
He took the punishment we deserved and laid it on Jesus. Jesus paid the price. God not only erased your sins, but He nailed that list of shortcomings to the cross. This happened more often in history. When someone was sentenced to death, a sign was hung above the cross listing that person’s transgressions. That way, everyone knew exactly why that man or woman was hanging there. That was the debt note.
We also had such a debt note, but God completely destroyed it. He points us to His Son, who paid the price and cleared the way so that you can be free. The darkness still tries to accuse us, but God triumphed openly through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He overcame the powers of darkness. What at first seemed like defeat turned out to be the greatest victory ever. Because of this, billions of people have been able to give their lives to Christ.
Bitter aftermath
Martha’s story had a bitter aftermath. Martha’s mother sued the midwife who had delivered the baby. She demanded enormous damages for her daughter and son-in-law through the courts. However, Martha could not live with the thought that this woman, who had helped her so much, would be convicted for the death of her child. In court, Martha asks the judge if she can say something. She declares that the midwife is not to blame and is innocent.
Acquittal
This is how God looks at your life. He says that you are innocent. Not because you have never done anything wrong, but because He acquits you. Jesus says that his death is your death and his resurrection is your life. At the end of the film, we see that Martha has had another child years later. A story that began as a tragedy has come to a happy ending. There is new life in her family. The guilt is gone and the darkness has been dispelled. I invite you to entrust your life to God and accept your acquittal. You may hear that you are free, because God acquits you.
@wimvanputten